JIs

Here's a question for JI growers:
What compostable material do you use to raise the PH in your soil for
your Japs?  Some people would travel for miles and miles to get oak leaves
and/or pine needle mulch.  Anyone with experiences to share on raisng PH?
Miracid works, but must be reapplied frequently since it's a chemical.
Anyone who has heard Carol Warner's wonderful talks about her Japs will have
heard that she does absolutely nothing after planting -- no additional
water ormulching for ph.  Her stuff is FABULOUS!!  Ensata Gardens is ditto.
Let's ask these suppliers, too!  
Carolyn Schaffner -- Buffalo, NY--
**
In Delaware, I was fortunate not to have to lower the pH much at all.  Just
digging a little peat moss and lawn-mowered oak leaves into the soil did
fine.  Here in pH-neutral Ohio, I am experimenting.  I actually carried a few
bags of oak leaves from DE to get me going, included a little more peat moss
in with them, and a bit of elemental sulphur too.  I also worked in a little
iron sulfate, since they say it acts in a few months while the elemental
sulphur spreads out its effects over a longer time.  This did fine for the
first year--they grew fine and measurements show around pH 5.5 or so. 
I've mulched with pine needles and plan to keep taking measurements and 
adding more iron sulfate if it seems needed.

I like to do these things rather than Miracid, since Miracid doesn't
do too much acidifying in relation to its fertilizing, and I like to
play like I know how much of each thing they should have.

Carol does a little more than absolutely nothing after planting.  She
gives her beds a good covering of a manure mix in the fall.  That was
one operation that I unfortunately never managed to coordinate with my
schedule to go over and help with.  She doesn't have a good way to water
much of her stock, though, and I do think there is something to her
theory that her plants develop good roots accustomed to handling lack
of water.
                                --Jim

__
Jim Wilson, Miami Valley Iris Society, SW Ohio, USA, Zone 6a, AIS garden judge
growing TBs, medians, SIBs, JIs, & a few SPU & species.   wilsonjh@muohio.edu
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